Toronto Maple Leafs netminder Matt Murray is having a tough stretch right now and it’s starting to remind us of Jack Campbell.
Toronto Maple Leafs goaltenders have been loved throughout the history of the franchise. From Turk Broda, Terry Sawchuk, Johnny Bower, Felix Potvin, Curtis Joseph and even Jack Campbell, the city has a soft spot for the netminder.
And I feel the exact way as the city does.
Screaming “Soup” from the top of my lungs after a Campbell save at a playoff game was as fun as any Leafs memory I can remmeber over the past two decades and the goalie has always been my favorite player.
Heading into the 2022-23 season, I wasn’t sure if I would feel the same way. Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov were set to battle it out for the number-one position and both had plenty of question-marks.
Murray, had gone through a crazy stretch of up’s and down’s already in his career, hitting a low-point of being put on waivers by the Ottawa Senators last year. However, the high’s were as high as they get, winning back-to-back Stanley Cup’s with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
As for Samsonov, he was a former high draft-pick with all of the potential in the world, but hadn’t quite delivered it at the NHL-level. In a better system and with a solid roster in front of him, it was possible that he could turn into the Leafs starter by year’s end, but we all assumed he would be the 1B to Murray’s 1A.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Matt Murray Is Struggling Right Now
In Murray’s last start, he allowed four goals on eight shots and was pulled early into the second period. This wasn’t hard to believe because he’s been on a downswing the last few weeks after having an incredible start to the year.
Looking back at the 2021-22 campaign, Murray is starting to resemble Jack Campbell, which isn’t a good thing. Let’s look at their splits per month.
- Jack Campbell (2021-22 season):
- October: 2.21 GAA, .918 SV%
- November: 1.27 GAA, .959 SV%
- December: 2.97 GAA, .909 SV%
- January: 3.57 GAA, .880 SV%
- Februray: 3.42 GAA, .894 SV%
- March: 4.60 GAA, .845 SV% (stats: espn.com)
- Matt Murray (2022-23 season):
- November: 2.17 GAA, .938 SV%
- December: 2.44 GAA, .911 SV%
- January: 3.69 GAA, .883 SV%
Murray was injured after one game to start the season, so there’s no reason to include October, but you can see the trend as the season has progressed. Similar to Campbell, he’s continued to get worse with every month.
So, is it all Murray’s fault right now that he’s not playing well or is a trend to the team in-front of him?
Here’s the thing about the Leafs over the past two years. Once the New Year hits, they’ve usually already wrapped up a playoff berth and know their safe until April. With that mindset, every game doesn’t matter as much and it’s hard to get up for a weekday game against Seattle, for example.
However, although Ilya Samsonov’s numbers have also worsened throughout the year as well, they’re nowhere close to as bad as Murray’s and Campbell’s, so I think you have to blame the goalies, not the team.
Toronto has the luxury of having two starting goalies so if Murray continues to struggle, they can give the reigns to Samsonov, but I’m sure they’d rather both of them just play well. However, the Murray numbers are scary to watch and the team should keep a close eye on it as it’s really starting to turn into Campbell 2.0.